After the Dust
by MrMeasles
Summary: After a war with the nations of Remnant ends in fire, the survivors flee to underground vaults. Now two hundred years later, Vault 5's door has opened. One young vault dweller must step into a world of misery and anarchy to find a missing person. The catch, he can't go home until the job is complete.
1. Prologue - A Brighter Future

**A/N**

 **This story came to me a while ago and I figured I'd try working on it. It's a darker story than I usually write, taking into account the general themes and atmosphere of the Fallout universe rather than the fairy tale vibes of RWBY's universe. This combination of RWBY and Fallout has probably be done quite a bit, given the popularity of both series. I decided I'd try to take my own spin on the idea and see how it goes. This is also incidentally my first crossover story. So I'm eager to see how I tackle this. It actually went through a couple incarnations, with plans for Ruby to be the main character. However, I decided to go with an OC character instead. Ruby still has a role to play however. I don't want to say any more.**

 **This prologue is just a small taste of what is to come. I plan to update this story semi-regularly, so far as my schedule allows it. Hopefully I can get this one finished. As always, let me know what you think. Write a review, or simply follow or favorite the story. You guys should know how much it helps with motivation. So throw on some fifties tunes, sit back and enjoy the ride. Also remember to accentuate the positive.**

* * *

 **Prologue – A Brighter Future.**

I was alone. My team scattered around the city in their own battles. I stood inside the bullhorn gunship, waiting for my chance. I was scared. I had only minutes to make it through the command carrier and find the control room. I needed to stop this war before it escalated. Before the nukes were dropped. Before Armageddon. No pressure.

"ETA One minute!" The pilot called out. The doors opened.

Outside was a war zone. Ships blasting each other out of the sky, bullhorns strafing each other. I could see below civilian airships trying to get out of the city, some were caught in the crossfire. Even further below, in the streets, the battle raged on. Mechs and soldiers, civilians and militia. It was a bloodbath down there. I closed my eyes and said a short prayer. That this mission would be a success. I wasn't really religious, but I needed every help today.

I jumped from the gunship and used the recoil of Crescent Rose to slow my descent. I hit the roof of the command carrier. I found a vent and tore it open with my scythe. I dove inside. Navigating my way through was easier than I thought, however when I finally was free of the ventilation system. I was surrounded by Atlesian mechs.

My battle with the mechs was taking too much time. I decided to just run past them. I checked my scroll. Five minutes. Four minutes. Three minutes. I was running out of time and fighting my way through wasn't helping.

I wished the others were here. If only so I knew they were safe. My sister Yang, my friends Weiss and Blake. Jaune, Nora, Ren. I wished I knew where they were. But with all the chaos down below, they were likely doing something as important as I was. Something just as suicidal. It wasn't a comforting thought.

I reached the control room with just over a minute to spare. The general spun around with an assault rifle and opened fire. I slid behind cover.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "You'll kill everyone!"

"That's the plan!" He said. "The world will be reborn, from the ashes a new regime will rise. Atlas will survive, as it always does."

"You're insane." I said. "Please don't do this!"

"There's nothing you can do, there will be no surrender, no armistice, no retreat." He said. "We go forward, to a new dawn."

I lined up my shot. I fired. First grazed his shoulder. The next three went straight through his chest. He staggered back, blood splattering everywhere. He collapsed in a pool of his own blood. He coughed and wheezed. Blood sputtered from his lips.

"Tomorrow." He gasped. "Tomorrow will be a better day."

I ran to the control panel. I had ten seconds left.

"Command, how do I stop it! Command! Come in command!" I wasn't going to let this man win. "Command, please respond. I need assistance. How do I stop it! Command! Please!"

Nothing but static came. The counter reached zero. No, no not like this. I banged on the control panel. I started punching in codes. I needed to stop it. I watched as missiles began to launch. From sites hidden throughout the mountains around Vale. I watched as warships detonated all around. I looked up at the console. A map of the world, marking the trajectories of all the missiles launching, from Atlas, from Mystral, from Vacuo, from Vale. All of it. Every city, every town, anywhere people gather, they were about to be wiped off the map. Total devastation.

There was nothing I could do but watch. Tears rolled down my face. All my friends, everyone I knew. They were down there. There was nothing I could do.

"Ruby!" A voice called out on my scroll. Jaune's voice. "Ruby what's going on?"

"Jaune, where are you?" I asked.

"I'm in a bunker. I can't fight anymore. I took a bad hit." He said. He coughed hoarsely. "Some of the soldiers are stranded in here. Bombing collapsed the exit. We're trapped. What's going on."

"Jaune. It's all over." I said. "I didn't make it in time."

"Ruby. It's not your fault." Jaune said. "Just stay calm."

"But the others. They are still out there." I said.

"We all signed on knowing we could die one day." Jaune said. "I just didn't want it to be today."

"I'm so sorry Jaune."I said. Tears were streaming down my face. I watched in the distance as a bright flash of light detonated, far on the horizon. "The first missile hit."

"Ruby listen to me." He said. He wheezed. "It's not your fault. This isn't your fault."

"It isn't my fault." I repeated.

"Whatever happens. I want you to know. You are one of the best friend's I've ever..." Jaune said. The missile detonated just outside the city limits. There was a bright flash, communication cut out. The consoles on the ship cut out. The ships that weren't outright destroyed by the blast suddenly were free falling below. I held on for dear life. Mostly out of fear.

"Jaune?" I muttered. I watched as I headed straight for Robco headquarters. The city was burning below. The ship's temperature was increasing. I heard the ship buckling under the blast. This ship was built to survive atomic bombs, but it's generators clearly weren't properly equipped to handle the EMP that followed. Suddenly backup power turned on. Maybe it was after all. I slid over to the control, the ship was now nose diving. I needed to steer it. I aimed for the water. It was my only chance.

It was working, I was free falling but I was heading straight for the open ocean. With luck, I might be able to survive the crash. Then I could find my friends. If they were still alive. If I survive the crash.

The waves headed closer and closer. I closed my eyes, I readied my scythe.

The world may have ended, but I wasn't done with it yet.


	2. Chapter 1 - A Better Life, Underground

**Chapter 1 – A Better Life, Underground.**

* * *

"The time is 11:32 AM, the date is Monday, November 1st, 2277." A robotic voice called out.

"Five more minutes." I said. I shifted in my sleep. Warm, comfortable. Why would you ever want to leave this bed. My mind took a moment to process what it just heard. Wait a minute. Oh no not again.

I shifted out of bed, sliding my warm blankets off and fumbling around with my feet on the cold pavement. Concrete floors, titanium walls, all a cold grey. It was frigid in this room. Even the door was a heavy metal door devoid of warmth. They say the heat is regulated, so it's always comfortably warm. No it isn't. That's a bold faced lie. The floor was solid ice, so I had to feel around for my slippers. They were also cold but I could deal with that. I put them on and hurried around my room. I climbed into my jumpsuit, not the usual blue and yellow you normally get but a black and white one. A big number five in white was on the back.

I was the vault chaplain. Of all things to be, that was the result of the G.O.A.T. The Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test, which determines exactly where you end up for the rest of your life. I'm not even religious, but I have to pretend to be for the betterment of society.

I clasped my Pip-Boy 3000 to my arm. It was a bulky piece of Robco trash that weighs just enough to annoy you when you have to carry something heavy. I glanced around one last time. My room was sparsely decorated, I got the short end of the straw at requisitions. I got a couple nuka cola posters, a few war pinups, and a poster of the city of Vale skyline, before the war obviously. The high rise buildings that supposedly only got built up just before the war covered the downtown commercial district, the rest was old fashioned looking houses densely packed together. I also had an old mahogany baseball bat in the corner. Not that I could ever use it for anything. There was no vault baseball team after all.

I stepped outside into the living space. It was what you'd expect from an underground vault. A sofa, a radio, a kitchen and a dining room all in one room. The bathroom was across the hall, public bathroom. It sucked during sick days. I didn't bother checking my parents room, they were at work already. And by work, in my mother's case at least, I meant drinking. Two hundred years and the vault still hasn't run out of liquor.

I glanced at the mirror on my way out. I was still young, eighteen years old, dark hair in a messy mane, just starting to grow facial hair. By that I mean chin scruffs. My eyes are dark blue. It's where I got my name, Navy Fallow.

I've been regretting the fact I never had ambitions. They say you can cheese the G.O.A.T. If you know what you are doing of course. Get whatever job you want. I didn't have a job I wanted, ended up drawing the short straw it seems. Those questions were awful too. None of them made sense. What the hell is a quantum harmonizer or a photonic resonation chamber. I didn't have ambitions, probably because I'm living in a metal box under a mountain. A better life, yeah right.

In the hallway a Mister Handy robot floated by, it gave a salute as it passed. The radio was playing one of the same dozen upbeat tunes about accentuating positivity or something of the sort. I had long tuned out the radio. I picked up speed as I was already way too late. I had to go to the chapel. It was my one responsibility and no doubt there was an angry mob waiting for me. Oh wait, that would imply people actually went to the chapel. I grabbed the holy texts and shoved it in the pouch in my lower back area of my jumpsuit. It had to be the least comfortable place to put a book.

I turned the corner and ran straight into Rusty. Rusty Rose, bane of my existence. He was the golden boy of the vault. His great great something or other was something special before the war. Probably need a few more greats in there. The war was at least two hundred years ago. Still, he could do no wrong. He was good at too many things and it made me look like a complete idiot in comparison.

He was shorter than me, with dark red hair that was always messy in that playful sort of way, rather than my perpetual bedhead. His hair was even better than mine, go figure. His eyes were silver, in a vault where no one else had eyes like his. Girls loved it. You'd be surprised how many people in this damned vault have blue eyes.

Oh, and he's the Overseer's protege, next in line to take over the whole damn vault.

"Rusty, aren't you supposed to be shadowing the Overseer or something?" I asked.

"I got more important things to do than that, shove off okay?" Rusty asked. "Aren't you supposed to be holding mass or something preacher?"

"Touche." I said. He walked past me, bumping my shoulder as he did.

"Get going then." He said, pointing in the direction of the chapel. Prick. You may have noticed I hate this guy. Never used to be the case, we were friends once. I don't know what happened there. Maybe I just got sick of everyone hero worshiping the kid, maybe he let the fame go to his head. It doesn't matter now. That was a long time ago.

I reached the chapel. Sure enough old lady Henderson was waiting for me. She had a scowl that etched her entire face into one giant crease. She was a fat old bat who liked to gossip on everyone in the vault. She liked to pretend she was a decent person. I smiled and unlocked the door. We stepped inside. She found her seat at the front. She was the only person who actually showed up every day. I figured it was just to make sure I was doing my job. Someone had to be here or I'd be talking to myself. Then I'd be clinically insane.

I pulled out the holy text and skimmed it. Old lady Henderson cleared her throat and stared at me expectantly. I found where I left off before. The two brothers and the creation of Grimm. What a fun topic, a real fire and brimstone kind of deal.

"Two brothers, existed on Remnant in the beginning." I read. I glanced around the otherwise empty room. Why do I bother? So an old bat can feel better about herself? What a life. "They filled it with both life and death. One brother created water, plants and wildlife during the day, only the other brother created drought, fires and famine at night. Yet life was strong and this didn't get in it's way." I sighed. Some people in this vault lived to be about ninety to a hundred do to perfect living conditions and top of the line medical treatment. I was eighteen. How many years did I have to put up with this. My job wasn't exactly difficult, only dull, in theory I could do this until I'm dead. "The god of destruction created creatures of Grimm, created for the purpose of destroying everything they come across."

Eighty two years? That can't be right. Maybe seventy two if I'm lucky. Or maybe I'll get killed by a homicidal old lab scientist who wants to stick his quantum harmonizer in my photonic resonation chamber. There's that G.O.A.T. Again.

"Weary of the feuding, the God of Life proposed that the two of them create one last thing together, a masterpiece. Something that took from Life and Destruction in harmony. The God of Destruction agreed and they created a creature with gifts of creation, knowledge, destruction, and free will. That free will led them to walk the paths of light and dark on their own volition. These creatures became known as humanity."

Old lady Henderson started clapping. Why was she clapping? It was a sermon. I sighed again. I closed the book. She looked a little annoyed and stopped the applause. She stood up and approached.

"Is that all for today preacher?" She asked. I squeezed the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. I was starting to get a migraine already. "Is there more to the story?"

"I'm sure there is." I said. Next page was detailing souls and semblance, what a load of bull. I wanted to just say no, it's all fake. Go away. The look on her face would be priceless. But I had to put up with her for another ten years at the very least. I didn't want to have to see that scowl any more than I had to. "But that's for another day. I have to tidy up here and organize the scriptures."

"Alright preacher, same time tomorrow?" She asked. "We'll sooner this time okay?"

"Right." I said. I sat down. I was no longer Navy Fallow. I was preacher. That's what people called me. They don't even bother pretending I have a name. I was just another profession. One no one wanted. Who'd want to be the priest? It's dull, pointless and amounts to nothing in the end. I don't even know why this job exists.

* * *

I finished tidying up. I heard a klaxon outside. That's never a good sign. Last time that happened a group of radroaches somehow got into the power generator and security had to clear it out. It was infested for three days. I stepped outside to see people running in panic. Security guards were running with their hands on their pistols. Never a good sign.

"What's going on?" I called out. One of them stopped.

"Lock your door preacher." The security guard said. "Don't come out until the Overseer gives you the all clear."

"But what's happening?" I asked.

"The door is open!" He said. "The vault door is open!"

"Oh my gods." I said. Yeah, I know. Taking the lords names' in vain is something of a habit of mine. I'm not a very good preacher after all.

"We'll have the situation under control soon." He said. "Keep calm."

I closed the door and locked it. Those doors haven't opened in two hundred years and now some idiot opened them? Who'd be stupid enough to do something like that.

About twenty minutes passed and the klaxon came to a stop. It didn't help my headache at all. The intercom went. The Overseer's voice followed.

"Everyone remain calm, the door has been closed and the crisis averted. May Navy Fallow report to the Overseer's office. Immediately!" The voice called out. Oh no, now what. I stepped outside of my chapel. Everyone was out in the hallway gossiping.

"Who's Navy Fallow again?" One of them asked. I saw her at least once a week on Sundays.

"That's the preacher man I think?" Another said. They both turned to me and gave me a funny look. In fact, almost everyone was giving me weird looks. I bet they thought it was my fault. Sure, why not. Let's just lap on more reasons to hate me.

* * *

The overseer's office overlooked the main junction point of the vault. I stepped inside and greeted the elderly Overseer, a frail old man balding but still trying to convince us that the comb over was natural. He smiled at the sight of me and motioned me to come forward. At least it seemed like I wasn't in trouble. You never know with this guy though. I found my seat in front of his desk.

"Navy Fallow, I need your help." He said. "The vault needs your help."

"What is it sir?" I asked.

"The vault doors were just recently opened as you are aware, and we know who was responsible." The Overseer said.

"Oh, and who was dumb enough to do that?" I asked.

"Rust Rose." The Overseer said. I started coughing. No way. This was getting too good. I tried my best to stifle my laughter. Tried and failed. "This is a serious matter Mr Fallow."

"I'm sorry, but why did he leave?" I asked.

"I do not know, he is well aware of his responsibilities as my understudy." He said.

"Then I can't possibly imagine why he'd leave?" I said. Lucky bastard was going to be king of his own little world.

"Which is why I've chosen you." He said. For what? To be Overseer? Thank the gods, I don't want to be the preacher anymore. Two years and I'm already sick of it. "To go out and find him. To find him and bring him back."

"Wait what?" I locked up. What did he just say? Did he just say go out? Out. Outside? That outside? With the radiation, and the mutants, and the gods know what else?

"You will head out, find Rust Rose, and return him to the vault safely. It is absolutely vital he make it back alive." The Overseer said.

"What about me? Do I get to make it back safely?" I asked. I stood up immediately. "Do I get a say in this?"

"No. You have your orders. You are to head out immediately. I have already sent word to your family. You will do this for the good of the vault or you will no longer have a place in it." He said. The air in the room was suddenly very cold. I could feel my heart pounding. My breathing was becoming more erratic. I felt like I was shrinking. "Am I clear?"

"But what about the mutants, and the Grimm, and the radiation?" I asked.

"The mutants are merely speculation, Grimm are fairy tales, and radiation levels are at an all time low according to our sensors." The Overseer said. Grimm are fairy tales. At least he's not beating around the bush at how useless my job is. Maybe that's why he picked me. I'm the expendable one. No one even knows my name. "Nobody else is alive out there. You'd be tracking the only living person on the surface. You may take anything you think you'd need."

"Can I take a gun?" I asked.

"Don't be preposterous, you won't need a gun." The Overseer said. "Now go get your things and head to the main doors. Security will see you out."

My parents were oddly absent from my home. I walked around my room again, one last time. I drew the short straw it seemed. Or maybe everyone here hated me. I got the feeling even my parents wanted nothing to do with me. I grabbed my old baseball bat. If the old coot wouldn't give me a gun I'd protected myself by any means I could. I'm not stupid. There is something out there. Something had to have survived the bombs, and I highly doubt it's friendly. I filled up my old school backpack with essentials. Food from the fridge, fresh water, a blanket, a bottle of nuka cola or two. That was the most I could find. I could always steal some stimpacks from the medical lab. That would go nicely, one final screw you to this place.

I headed up to the vault door. A massive titanium cog that sealed us in this place. The security guard watching the door gave me a first aid kit. He actually had a look of concern on his face. I didn't even know his name. Now I feel like a hypocrite. Here I was complaining no one knew my name. The door opened with a loud screech and the klaxon went. The Overseer's voice echoed from the intercom.

"Do not fear citizens, after the terror that occurred earlier today, we have decided to send our first expedition into the wastelands beyond our door. To locate new life, and to bring hope back to our vault." The Overseer said. Hope yeah, new life sure. I was mutant bait and they all knew it. I rested my bat on my shoulder and stepped outside. The door screeched shut behind me. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. I was in a cave. All around me were the skeletal remains of people who didn't make it in time.

I stepped out of the cavern and into the blinding light.

Before me was something I never thought I'd see. Bright blue sky above, a blinding orb of shimmering light. Below it was the overgrown ruins of the city of Vale. I recognized it from my skyline poster. I felt an overwhelming realization that there was no ceiling, nothing but an empty void above me. My knees wobbled and I keeled over. I started puking. My vision blurred and I nearly fell over into my own puke. I managed to steer myself off and I collapsed to my side. I noticed another puke stain not far from mine. Seems the perfect Rusty Rose also had a dizzy spell. I guess he's not immune to those.

I glanced around my surroundings. Everything was overgrown with bright red foliage. I had no idea where I was going, but I needed to find that prick and soon. I hoped to the gods that he wouldn't get me killed.


	3. Chapter 2 - First Timer's Luck

**A/N**

 **I want to thank my first reviewer for his suggestion. ShoddyCast does some pretty good work. While I was fairly confident in my understanding of fallout lore, you can never truly know enough. Always got to keep learning. So whoever you are guest reviewer, thank you for the suggestion. I'll keep studying up and hopefully it will lead to all the more engaging story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – First Timer's Luck**

I scanned the surroundings with my Pip-Boy, it's map started to slowly expand it's radius. Before it only showed me the corridors of the vault, now that I am out on the surface it's showing me the mountains, the city of Vale, the streets, the houses. I can see it all. Unfortunately this doesn't tell me who's living there and where Rusty is. That would be easy. I wish I merely had a flag telling me exactly where he was at any given time, so I could just follow it to it's source. That really would be easy, wouldn't it.

I made my way down the bluffs and found myself walking on an old highway. It was heavily surrounded by red foliage, towering trees and sounds of insects. Or at least, I assumed those were insects. Having never heard one before I didn't have much to base it on. It took me a while but soon I was entering the city limits. Residential district it seemed like. I scanned the high rises of downtown and the relatively cramped streets that I would likely be reaching within the next hour or so. I saw a massive tower off in the distance, I believe it was once called Beacon Academy. It's said it was the heart of the city. However, there was some sort of fog around it now, blood red in hue. It left a chill down my spine when I looked at it. I shook my head and continued walking. There had to be signs of life somewhere. Everyone couldn't be dead right? Given my luck they'd all be cannibalistic mutants like the kids in the vault used to tease me about. I had nightmares for months.

I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I was still in the outskirts with sparse housing, but I noticed a light coming from behind a house. A campfire. Perhaps I found Rusty already. I gave my bat a few practice swings. I smirked. I really shouldn't hit him but it'd be so worth it right now. I stepped onto the lawn of the house and made my way around to the back. Sure enough there was a whole campsite in the back. I noticed there were cages everywhere, big ones. This wasn't Rusty's camp. I started to back up, but something cold and metal was touching the base of my neck.

"Don't move scumbag." A woman's voice said, it sounded rough said. "Drop the toy."

I dropped the bat in a heartbeat. I tried to turn around, I heard the hammer click. I stopped myself. She started pushing the object against my neck.

"Walk. Towards the cages." She said.

I started walking. I approached a cage and noticed there were bloodstains inside. Oh no, not the cannibal mutants I heard about. I started shaking my head.

"I don't want to go in there." I said. I felt something collide with the back of my head.

* * *

I woke up in the cage, handcuffed. The cold metal chaffed my wrists and the cage left much to be desired when it came to comfort. My heart was pounding in my throat, my head was in agony. I could feel wetness on the back of my skull where I was likely bleeding. I scanned my surroundings. There were now at least six people sitting around the campfire. Dressed lightly, but with scraps of metal covering parts of their body in makeshift body armor. One of them even wore a sack on his head. They were talking and laughing uproariously. I looked to my left and found a young woman staring at me, right up against the cage. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

She had bright blue hair, shaved at one side and long on the other. She had periwinkle eyes. They were cold and harsh to look at. She was otherwise cute, though covered in dirt, possibly blood stains, and had several scars on her face, cuts on her eyebrows, cheeks, lips, and along her left eye. She had a warm smile, but given those cold eyes it came across as unsettling. She was dressed lightly, very lightly. Her arms were covered in tattoos. One arm had a tribal insignia, the other had a rose vine pattern. It went all the way up to her neck and down to her wrist.

"Hey there cutie." She said. Her voice was as smooth as sandpaper. It's like she's been smoking since she was six. It was raspy and strained. I blinked. She started giggling. "You are absolutely adorable."

"Please don't hurt me I'm just passing through." I said. She started giggling some more.

"You are adorable." She said. "It's a pity, I'd hate to see what they'd to to you in Slaver's bay."

I didn't know what Slaver's Bay was but it didn't sound pleasant. I glanced around. The others were bigger and scarier looking than her. I figured my best shot was to try to reason with her. I was always good at talking my way out of things. Perhaps that could come in handy now.

"Listen, you don't want to take me to slaver's bay." I said. "Maybe we can work out a deal."

"Ooh." She cooed. "I like the sound of that."

"What do you want." I said. "I don't have much but I can offer you something if you help me get out of here."

"I want you." She said. She purred as she said it. I winced.

"What?" I asked.

"You're cute." She said. She moved closer. I moved further away. "I think I'll just take you."

"Take me where?" I asked.

"You really are adorable." She said. She reached through the cage and ruffled my hair. I recoiled. She started giggling.

"Dodger, stop playing with the kid!" A massive tattooed man said. He approached. He pulled out a 10mm pistol and aimed it at me. I froze. I started stammering like an idiot.

"Come on man, you don't want to do that." I mumbled.

"Shut up." He said. "I decided I don't want to look over an extra body. We have an ambush to stage and we'll have enough people. We're not taking him to slaver's bay."

"Oh thank the gods." I said.

"We'll kill him." The man said. My heart started pounding in my throat. This wasn't right. "Try to get that Pip-Boy off, we could sell it for a lot of caps."

"Please don't do this." I said. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Not like this. I didn't want to die like this.

"I don't like this plan." The girl, Dodger, said. "I don't like it at all."

"Tough, you'll have to live with it." The man said. "Unless you wish to challenge me over this whelp."

"Good idea." She said.

She drew fast and fired. The round went right between the man's eyes. He stood there for a few seconds with a confused look on his face. His legs finally gave out and he rag dolled to the ground. I scampered to the far side of the cage. I watched her fan her gun and mow down her own friends. She popped the cylinder and reloaded it. She turned to me with a sickly smile, blood still splattered against her face. She opened the cage and reached in, she grabbed me by the ankles and started dragging me out. She was surprisingly strong.

"You killed them." I said. There was blood everywhere. It was so quiet now. I started feeling dizzy.

"They were going to kill you, I can't let that happen." She said.

"Why?" I asked.

She cuffed me. I started backing away from her. She followed me. I didn't like the way she was staring at me, I needed to get away from her. I tripped over a rock and fell onto my back. She climbed on top of me.

"You know, I was thinking of taking you to slaver's bay. I think a slave collar would look pretty nice on you." She said. "I think I'll just unwrap my present now."

"Unwrap?" I asked. She started unzipping my jumpsuit.

"I've never been with a preacher man before." She said. "That sounds like fun."

She made the mistake of uncuffing me. I don't know why. I decided to use my advantage as best I could. I started reaching around for something. I found a rock. I swung. It hit the side of her head and she collapsed to the ground. Blood trickled from her head. I climbed on top of her and raised the rock. I hesitated. What the hell was I doing. I dropped it and grabbed her revolver. I aimed it at her. In a matter of seconds she was now at my mercy. I zipped up my suit and steadied my aim.

She saved my life, intentions ignoble as they may be. I couldn't just kill her. I wasn't that kind of person. I wasn't her. I was just a vault chaplain, didn't seem right to start murdering people. Even if I didn't like the job it just didn't feel right. I didn't know what to do with her. I glanced at all the corpses. She killed her own friends just so she could have a good time. The world might be a better place without her in it. But I wasn't the kind of person who'd make that call. She'd live another day.

It started to rain. My Pip-Boy's Geiger counter started to click. I needed to find shelter. I noticed the building next door had a cellar. I started walking, but I glanced back at Dodger. She was sparsely dressed and left out in the rain. She'd probably get sick or die of exposure given how lightly she's dressed. I groaned and grabbed all my stuff and a few of the bags around the campsite. I then grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her to the cellar doors.

Inside I found a radiator to handcuff her to. With her own handcuffs too. It was probably for the best not to travel in this weather. Somehow I managed to get myself taken hostage, and now I have a hostage myself. First day in the wasteland and I'm already chaining girls to radiators.

The sun started going down. I spent the night watching my newfound prisoner. I realized if I ever was going to find Rust, I'd need someone who knows the lay of the land. I glanced over at my prisoner. Aw hell. This wasn't going to end well. What a start to a journey. I bet Rust isn't this unlucky.


	4. Chapter 3 - Jet Fueled Hellion

**Chapter 3 – Jet Fueled Hellion**

I woke up to screaming and shouting. Swears were being thrown around casually and my head had a splitting headache. I didn't notice when I had fallen asleep. I glanced around the sparsely decorated cellar. A few old boxes and a washing machine and dryer. Stairwells leading out back and up to the house were on either end of the cellar. I glanced at the radiator, my captive was still chained to it. She was pale as a ghost under all that dirt and grime, sweating profusely. She looked rough. Her eyes were bloodshot, there were bags underneath them, she had a weird twitch.

"You bastard!" She screamed. "My head hurts you limp dick son of a bitch!"

"Language!" I shouted back at her. I've never heard so much swearing before in my life. She continued fighting with her restraints. She was going to hurt herself at this point.

"Give me back my bag!" She shouted. "You fucking piece of shit little rat bastard son of a..."

She continued to throw a colorful barrage of curse words at me. I glanced over at the bag I grabbed on my way out of the campsite. I was hoping that there would be medical supplies or ammunition or something remotely useful. I opened it, she started fighting even harder, all I can hear was the clanging of metal. Inside were a dozen inhalers, most of which were made out of random scrap. All of them were labelled with tape. Jet. I had no idea what this jet was, but I figured it was some kind of narcotic. Just what I needed right about now, a junkie for a captive.

I hesitated for a moment, then slid the bag over to her. I kept the revolver trained on her.

"With my own gun too, I'll kill you, you little-" She immediately snatched the bag and reached inside. With shaking hands she grabbed an inhaler and placed it in her mouth. She took a deep breath, pressing a button on the top and mellowed out immediately. She slouched into the wall and slid into a comfortable position. The effects were nearly instantaneous. I wasn't sure whether to be impressed or not.

"Can you hear me?" I asked.

"I'm not deaf you prick!" She said. "What do you want preacher man."

"I'm no preacher." I said.

"You ain't fooling me preacher man." She said.

I really need to get rid of this jumpsuit, then again I'll need it when I return home. Oh boy. Old lady Henderson is going to be so glad I'm back. "My name is Navy."

"Good for you." She said.

"Your name is Dodger, correct?" I asked.

"That's right." She said.

"This is a bad idea." I sighed. This was going to backfire on me but I had to try. "I need your help."

"And I need a good screw but look what happened to that plan." She said, she brushed the side of her head. She turned her head revealing a bad gash and blood stained hair. She winced as she touched it. "Did you have to hit me with a rock?"

"I had a feeling words weren't going to sway you much?" I replied.

"So you jump straight to bashing my skull in?" She asked. "What do they teach you in that vault?"

"So you know where I'm from?" I asked.

"Duh, the suit kind of gives that away. Only vault dwellers wear jumpsuits out here." She says. She pointed to her light leather shirt that barely covered any of her torso and her shorts that were entirely too short. "This is the height of fashion out here south of Fancytown. Don't expect much better."

"Alright back on topic, I need your help." I said. "I need a guide."

"Right, and I'm supposed to jump to helping you?" She asked.

"I need a guide, I don't like you. I don't even trust you, but you must know this area better than I do." I said. She scoffed. "Am I wasting my time or are you going to help me, because if I'm wasting my time I could just shoot you now and be done with you." I cocked her revolver's hammer and steadied my aim. I hoped the gesture would be enough. I didn't have much plans of killing anyone. Hopefully she wouldn't see through my bluff, she might even take it seriously. Maybe. Hopefully. I gauged her reaction. I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"I love it when my man is dominant." She said. She winked. At least she wasn't threatening me. I shook my head. I still wasn't exactly comfortable with the way she was looking at me. It was like I was nothing but a toy to her. This alliance wasn't going to work.

"I'm wasting my time." I said. I lowered the revolver. She smirked.

"I'll do it." She said. "On one condition."

"I'm not sleeping with you." I said.

"Not yet at least." She said, licking her lips.

"You're incorrigible." I replied. She stared at me blankly. I realize she might not even know what the word means.

"Does that mean we're going to-" She began. Yep, not a clue.

"No." I said, cutting her off. "What's your condition."

"It's simple." She said with a mischievous smile. I didn't want to know what was going on in that mind of hers. "If you so much as look at another woman I'll cut your balls off."

"That's it?" I asked. She nodded enthusiastically. It sounded much too simple, if a bit horrific.

"You're my man, whether we sleep together or not." She said.

"Whether I agree to that or not?" I asked.

"Now you're getting it." She said with a wide grin.

"Fine." I said. Like I was going to find another woman out here in the wastes, least of all one saner than this woman. "I accept that term, let's go."

"I'm a little tied up right now." She said. She wiggled her handcuffed hand and the metal clanged. "I didn't know you were into kinky things. Maybe we can take the handcuffs along with us, for later."

Yep, incorrigible. I now had a guide but before we'd leave I'd need to know a bit more about my surroundings. Besides the fact the city is overgrown and Beacon tower is surrounded by some ominous fog, and the locals like to sell people into slavery at first sight, I didn't know much. It didn't paint a friendly picture.

"There's got to be a place where people gather, a settlement or town. One that isn't full of drugged out psychopaths." I said. She gave me a look. Her eyes started rolling back and forth. I realized she was still high as a kite. I didn't know what the effects of jet were, but it must be impressive that she'd be able to hold a conversation like this.

"Sanctuary, it's a town full of pussies but they got good eating there. Been there a couple times myself." She said. "They love me there. It'll be a breeze getting information out of them."

Any town that loves a person like Dodger doesn't sound like a place I'd like to visit. Still, if I was to find Rust I'd have to start talking to the locals. A guy in a bright blue jumpsuit stands out. Dodger confirmed that only vault dwellers dress like that. So a silver eyed vault dweller has to be a rare sight. I uncuffed her. She advanced on me fast and kissed me on the cheek, my face went flushed and I didn't even notice she took her gun back. She holstered it and winked at me.

"If I was going to kill you I'd already have done it." She said. "I still want you alive for later."

"Scary thought." I said. "Let's go."

I grabbed my things and followed her out. I figured she'd be a better shot than me if we ran into trouble. I still didn't like the idea of her having a gun. Last thing I need is her blowing me away next chance she gets. I'd have to hope her odd infatuation with me could be used to my advantage.

* * *

We walked through the overgrown suburbs for the better part of an hour. The houses were getting denser and I could even make out billboards and posters through all the overgrowth. They all had words like "Watch your neighbors." They'd portray small nuclear families peering around a corner, where another family would be shown shaking hands with soldiers bearing the Atlesian flag. Interesting stuff, prewar propaganda. Dodger had a hefty dufflebag that she carried over her shoulder, with her bag of jet worn at her hip. The dufflebag was stuffed full of weapons her comrades once owned. She looted them as we left and didn't offer me one. Either she knew something I didn't or she didn't want me armed with much more than a bat. I really feel the trust in this alliance. Then again I was staring at her back wondering if I could take her out before she could get a shot on me.

Dodger held up her hand. She backed up a bit and drew her revolver. I readied my bat.

"Get to cover, now." She said. I noticed a buried car and ran behind it. The bright red foliage made decent cover, I glanced over it and watched.

"Dodger!" A voice called out. I noticed six guys stepping from around a corner. They were advancing on her. "We've been looking for you."

"Petey, nice to see you." She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Mitch and the others. They left me high and dry during our ambush." Petey said. "Where are they girly?"

"I killed them." She said. She fired her revolver into the man's foot and spun him around. She leveled the gun to his ear. The others took a few steps back and drew their own firearms. "I'll do the same to you if you don't back off."

"You psycho bitch." Petey said. His voice was strained from the obvious pain he was in. "I'll kill you."

I shifted around the car for a better angle. All I had was my bat. I really should have grabbed one of the guns lying around but she took them all for herself. Regardless, I didn't feel comfortable shooting people. I didn't realize I'd be in this situation so often. At least she had a walking arsenal, that still didn't make me feel safe.

"Listen bitch, we can make a deal. You let us go and we'll let you walk." Petey said. "I'll wait until later to kill you."

"How about this." She said. She pulled the trigger and blew the side of his head clean off. I nearly retched at the sight of it. She opened fire at his men. The firefight was over in seconds. Petey had a dozen holes in him and was now on top of her. She was on the ground reaching for her gun. Four of the five remaining men were dead. The last man was standing over her.

I had to move fast. I moved around the car and sprinted for the man. He started to turn around. He raised his gun. I swung. The bat cracked into the side of his head. He dropped to the ground like a rock, blood splattered against my childhood toy and onto the ground below. It started pooling underneath him. He was convulsing. I staggered back and started puking. Dodger pushed Petey's corpse off of her.

"Stop being a pussy." She said. She fired a round into the convulsing man's head and it exploded like a melon. I toppled over and puked. She rolled her eyes and groaned.


	5. Chapter 4 - Faith in Sanctuary

**Chapter 4 – Faith in Sanctuary**

Sanctuary, a fortified settlement that was quite impressive to look at. I may be easily impressed from my upbringing however. The towering walls were something unlike anything I had ever seen. I could see watchtowers even higher, standing above the rooftops of the dense urban area. The gate was massive. The gate guard took one look at Dodger and raised a mean looking hand cannon.

"Dodger, you're back." He said. "We told you we'd kill you if you so much as stepped near our town."

"Oh I know you love me Harve, but I'm taken." She said pointing to me. I frowned. They sure do love her here.

He glanced over at me, then to my jumpsuit. His eyes widened. "What vault did you crawl out of?"

"Number five." I said.

"Never heard of it." He said. He eyed the black jumpsuit and the collar. "You're a preacher?"

"Yep." I replied.

"How in the hell did you end up travelling with someone like Dodger?" He asked. She tried not to look offended.

"She's my guide and my bodyguard." I said. I pulled out the sacred text. "I'm just here to proselytize and get my bearings."

"Right." He said. "Since you're a man of faith I'll grant the two of you passage, but if she so much as reaches for that pistol she's packin' she'll be nothing but paste on the street."

"I'd like to see you tr-" She said. I grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her back. I moved my head close to hers. She started grinning something sinister. I shook my head. Absolutely incorrigible.

"Let's not pick fights sweetheart." I said. She started blushing. I groaned. "Play nice."

"Only because it's you." She said. "Remember our deal by the way."

"Right, I won't look at any women while I'm here." She said. I still don't understand this deal. Why did she care so much, we only just met. Is she that possessive over a total stranger. I decided trying to understand her drug addled mind wasn't worth the effort.

The gates opened, revealing a main street leading up to several shops. We marched our way through the streets. She led the way. From what I could tell, they walled off several city blocks. Much of the houses looked like they had been converted into apartments to fit more of the town's populace. The streets were littered with market stalls hocking various ram shackled wares. Cheap knickknacks I couldn't imagine anyone buying in an apocalyptic wasteland such as this were sold here for steep prices. Why would anyone need a small statue of a cat? It just didn't seem practical. Maybe there was a sort of luxury in buying something like that, in a town like this, you could take shelter in that luxury.

At the end of the street was a shop, it was called From Dust Till Dawn. It was one of the few shops that looked like it had been around since before the war. The glass had been replaced but otherwise it seemed like it was untouched. Dodger took one look at it and smiled.

"Weapon shop, come on let's get some caps." She said.

We stepped inside, there was a strange stale smell. A small ringing sound echoed as we entered the shop. An old man glanced up at us. I recoiled in shock. His skin was rotten, like it was all about to fall off at a moment's notice. His grey hair was bald at the top but growing out wild at the sides. He wore an apron and was cleanly dressed underneath.

"What the hell are you/" I asked. Probably not the most sensitive thing I've ever said. The man merely smiled and laughed.

"Never seen a ghoul before?" He asked in a raspy voice. It sounded like Dodger's but if her vocal cords went through a cheese grater. He glanced at my jumpsuit. "Vault suit eh? I was supposed to wear one of those, then the bombs dropped and I lost my chance."

"You were around before the war?" I asked.

"Yes I was. I spent most of my days running this shop all the way until the world died." He said.

Dodger leaned in close to my ear. "I wouldn't trust every ghoul who says they've been around before the war." She whispered. "most of them are a little coo-coo from the radiation."

"What can I do for you strangers?" He asked. "Need a little firepower."

"I'm here to sell shopkeep." She said. "I''m surprised you've forgotten me, but maybe the radiation is addling your brain." She placed the dufflebag on the table. He smiled.

"Dodger, my eyes aren't what they used to be." He said. He began looking through all the weapons one by one, very carefully examining every inch. He placed them neatly on top of the counter.

"Five hundred caps." He said.

"Five hundred caps?" She asked. "That's a swindle!"

"Half these guns wouldn't fire if your life depended on it." He said. He raised a revolver and aimed it at the ceiling. He pulled the trigger, it sparked but nothing happened. "You'll get a salvage fee for them, I'm sure something about them still works. The only ones you can count on are these three revolvers and this shotgun."

Dodger started twitching, mumbling something about the goddamn zombies or something of the sort. I stepped in. Dodger may be good with her gun but her skill with wordplay leaves something to be desired. I'm not much better, but anything must be better than her at this point.

"Excuse me, how much is your usual salvage fee?" I asked.

"Twenty five caps per gun." He said. I quickly counted the guns.

"There are fourteen broken guns on this table correct?" I asked.

"Correct." He said.

"That's three fifty for the broken guns." I said. "But we also have four good condition guns, how much are those individually worth?"

He hesitated for a short moment, then he smiled warmly. "Seventy five for each revolver, one fifteen for the shotgun."

"Three forty plus three fifty, that's six hundred and ninety caps." I said.

"He's swindling us?" She asked. She reached for her gun, I held my hand up. She hesitated.

"Clearly his brains addled from that radiation you spoke of. He didn't count properly." I said. "A simple misunderstanding."

"Sinx hundred and ninety huh?" The old ghoul said. He had a toothy smile as he started pulling out bags of caps. Each one labelled a different number. "Alright, here you are kid. You're sharp. Most people out here can't count worth a damn."

"Vault education." I said. "Never thought I'd see the day when it was useful." How much does a priest need to do math.

"You really are part of the lucky few kid." The old man said. "I've always thought vault dwellers would be the ones to fix this world, not us old ghouls. Anything else?"

"Yes." Dodger said. "We're going to make a purchase."

* * *

We stepped out of the shop, Dodger bought me a revolver of my own, a .38 snub nose. Easily concealable and still packing considerable stopping power. She also had the man take my jumpsuit and sew on some leather armor to it. I think it was mainly an excuse to get me to stand around in my underwear for a good hour. She had a mischievous grin the entire time. When I got it back, it had leather around the arms, legs and shoulders, and a strap across the chest. It wouldn't protect me from bullets, but it might help with the mutated wildlife and the occasional knife or two. I didn't want to test that though. I holstered my revolver in my brand new holster and glanced around the town.

"Mister!" A lisp voice asked. I noticed a small boy of about seven or eight standing next to me. He lacked his front teeth. He looked upset. "You are a preacher?"

"Yes." I said. "Why?"

"I need your help." He said. "Follow me!"

He ran off down the block. Dodger shook her head.

"This is a waste of time." Dodger said.

"Come on, this won't take long." I replied.

"He's probably leading us into an ambush." She said.

"Then keep your hand on your hip." I said. "Come on, let's go."

We followed the kid around the neighborhood and into one of the houses. Sure enough it was crowded with people, plenty of tiny one room apartments made up the building. We went up the stairs and opened the door. Laying on a mat was an unconscious woman. Older, old enough to be the kid's mother.

"Is she alright?" I asked the kid.

He shook his head. "No." He said.

"She needs a doctor?" I asked.

"No." He said, shaking his head once again. He glanced up to me. "She's my mother. She stopped breathing."

He said it so casually too. I stepped over to his mother. She had a discarded needle next to her. I glanced back at Dodger. She was conveniently not in the room, looking out a window instead. She wanted nothing to do with this. I glanced back at the kid.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No." He said shaking his head.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

"You're a preacher. You can talk to god for me right?" He asked.

I didn't want to say no. Something about that look on the child's face. He'd seen enough disappointments and hardships. I couldn't talk to god, but I was damn sure I was going to try.

"Sure kid." I said. "I can do that."

"Make sure she goes up someplace nice." He said.

I pulled out the sacred texts, and skimmed through it. The book was old and more than a few pages were long since worn out. A two hundred plus year old holy book didn't age well even in the perfect conditions of the vault. I never found anything on an afterlife in it. I still assumed there was one, the thought certainly made this world less miserable. Without anything to go with, I just improvised.

"God of life, creator of man. Watch over this woman, your child. Keep her safe. She lived a life of hardships, a life of pain. She leaves her son in this world to grow up without her. Protect her soul, as it moves on from this life to the next. Uh. Amen." I said.

I glanced at Dodger, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. I turned to the kid. Stowing the sacred texts away in it's usual pouch. The kid looked at me confused. I smiled. He smiled back, though tears were welling up in his eyes.

"It's done. God will look after her now." I said.

"Is God a nice man?" He asked.

"The God of Life created us with the help of his little brother. They don't get along but the God of Life has always been the nicer of the two." I said. "He'll keep her soul safe, you have my word."

Dodger made another loud scoff from the hallway. I tussled the kids hair and walked him out of the room. We stepped outside and alerted the nearest deputy. They came and collected the body. They took the boy as well, I don't know where they were taking him. I hoped they were going to perform a funeral at least, but I don't know how burials work in this world. In the vault, bodies are cremated to conserve space. Families can choose to keep the urn or spread the ashes into a large container of the ashes of collective vault dwellers. So that they remain a community forever. Most vault dwellers choose the latter, though nobody complains about those who chose the former. It's their choice after all.

"Well that was a huge waste of time." Dodger said.

"It was the right thing to do." I replied. She groaned.

"Come on preacher man, let's find ourselves a place to stay. It's getting dark. You don't want to be out at night." She said.

"But-" I said.

"Better off not dying." She cut me off. "We'll find a place to spend the night. That's final."

"Right." I said.

* * *

We arrived at a decrepit hostel and paid for lodgings. We got the corner bed. Most of the beds hadn't been taken yet so we got the room for ourselves. Dodger mentioned we didn't have long before the place would be packed with people. She didn't seem to like hostels very much. At least, that's all I could get from her body language.

"So preacher man, this person you're after, who are they?" She asked.

"Rust Rose." I replied. "He's something of a bane of my existence."

"Right." She said. "What did he do?"

"He's the descended of some war hero." I said. "The one who almost saved the world. They hero worship him back home. He can do no wrong and everything is handed to him. Me, I get nothing and everyone hates me for no reason whatsoever."

"So you're jealous?" She asked.

"No, I'm just-" I said. I shook my head. "He let's it get to his head, the fame. You'd think he'd resent the constant admiration by now."

"Yeah, because that makes sense." She said.

"I'm just sick of seeing him succeeding where I fail, every time." I said. "He could at least fail once for me. That would be great."

She pulled out another jet inhaler and examined it. I frowned, she noticed.

"What?" She asked.

"Why do you use that stuff?" I asked.

"Don't judge me preacher man." She said. "At least I don't lie to children."

"What would you rather I do?" I asked.

"Just tell the brat his mother's dead and he'll be next if he doesn't toughen up." She replied.

"That's cold." I said. "You don't believe there's a possibility of a better world out there?"

"I think people who spend all day praying waste time they could be spent living." She said. "You deluded the kid, he'll grow up soft. Just you wait."

"I don't believe it. I can't believe that." I said. I don't know why I was defending my job so much. I hated being a preacher. I didn't believe in it fro a second, but in this moment, I couldn't help but defend my none existent faith.

"You are so cute you know that?" She said. She pulled me onto the bed with her. "Come on, just a little bit of fun? You should take a hit, you'll lighten up. Maybe pull that board out of your ass."

"Hey now." I said stammering. I felt my face going red. She started undressing. I needed an excuse, any excuse. My mind was having trouble resisting. "I'm a preacher remember, that wouldn't be prudent."

She started laughing, her mouth opened wide and she rolled back hysterically kicking her legs. I started laughing to. She relaxed on the bed giggling.

"Alright preacher man, you win this time." She said. "Wouldn't be prudent. Heh. Next time we'll have some fun."

"Next time?" I said. "I plan to be home by then."

She stopped giggling, she glanced away for a moment. When she turned back she had a smile but it lacked sincerity.

"What?" I asked. "What did I do?"

"You really want to go back there?" She asked. "I thought you didn't like it back there?"

"What makes you say that?" I asked

"The way you complained about Rust, the people there, it seemed like you don't get along with them." She said

"That's true but my home is there, my family, my life." I said. I realized how sad that sounded. Cold metal room, my family of drunks who didn't bother seeing their only son off on his journey into certain death, my job that I hated, old lady Henderson. For a moment I saw her point. I shook my head. "It's all I have."

"You have me." She said softly, far softer than I was used to hearing from her. It almost seemed, feminine.

"I barely know you." I replied.

"I'm going to sleep." She said, rolling over, facing away from me. "I'll wake you in the morning."

* * *

I woke to a swift kick to my side. I rolled off the bed and onto the floor. I hit the wooden floor and clambered to my feet. The room was abuzz with people quickly getting dressed and strapping on their many gun holsters. I slept with mine on me. I couldn't trust any of these wastelanders as far as I could throw them. I could barely trust Dodger and she's the closest thing I've ever had to a friend, unless you counted Rust, sad as that really was.

We stepped outside and were greeted by a small crowd. Townsfolk had gathered outside the hostel. A small boy was standing before them. He pointed at me the minute I stepped into sight. Dodger slowly lowered her hand to her gun. I grabbed her arm and shook my head.

They surrounded us, one by one they started shaking my hand. They actually seemed happy I was around. It wasn't something I was used to. One after the other they were telling me how glad they were to have a preacher in town. One of them even asked if I'll stay. They offered me a place to open a chapel. I had to decline. It turns out I wasn't the first preacher to show up in sanctuary, but it appears it's been some time since the last one came. The town has been in need of spiritualism for some time. Funerals in the vault were so cold, efficient. Nobody ever asked for a preacher to be present, even while the old preacher was still alive. Not even he asked for a funeral service. I never knew people would not only desire a preacher's service, but need one.

Dodger groaned and walked off. I smiled anyways. For the first time in my life someone actually wanted me around, and yet, I still had a job to finish. I had to find Rust. I had to leave this feeling behind if I was to do that. I don't think I've ever felt more disappointed than I did right at this moment.

I asked the happy townsfolk if they had seen a silver eyed vault dweller. One of them said they not only saw Rust, but they knew where he was going. At least where he said he was going. Schnee tower. They pointed to the largest tower on the horizon.

I now knew where he was. If I moved fast, I might be able to catch that son of a bitch. I didn't know what I was going to say to him when I found him. All I knew is it wouldn't be pleasant.


	6. Chapter 5 - Schnee Tower Reunion

**Chapter 5 – Schnee Tower Reunion**

The townsfolk of Sanctuary were kind to me. All I did was lie to a child about faith. They gave me a new lead on Rust's whereabouts. A silver eyed traveler in a vault suit came through town and was asking about the location of Schnee Tower. It was the tallest tower in the downtown area. You can't possibly miss it. We loaded up and headed out as early as we could. The townsfolk gave us some extra food for the trip. It would be a couple of hours before we could get to the tower. That was so long as nothing bad happened along the away.

I scanned the horizon and sure enough a massive tower with a snowflake on it was visible in the center of the high rises of downtown. The tower seemed to go all the way up to the clouds, though that might have been a matter of perspective.

The trip was oddly quiet, save for the sounds of dogs barking, animals howling, and distant gunfire. It was way too quiet, no raiders jumping out at us, no monsters hunting us. It bothered me a little too much. The entire way Dodger was telling me that downtown was the most dangerous part of the city. Way too much evil condensed in one place. I saw none of it.

The trip took forever, at least it felt that way. We reached Schnee tower just after noon. A giant snowflake hung dangerously over the main doors. The streets downtown had all been similar. Debris clogged the roads, cars where packed in the streets, overgrown by the red foliage. Broken glass and other debris layered over the streets. There was plenty of obstacles. I noticed there were no street lamps downtown. I wondered why.

Dodger told me to keep low while in downtown. It made walking harder and slower but she made a point that this was necessary. There are plenty of creatures downtown, so she says, last thing we need is for the beast to spot us first. Dodger held up a finger to her mouth and motioned for me to look. I glanced over to the tower, something was below it. A ghoul, hunched over and barely dressed. It's rotting flesh was exposed and horribly scarred. Blood was dripping from it's hands.

"It's a ghoul, like the shopkeep." I said.

"Not quite." She said. "That one is what we call a feral." She drew her revolver and leveled it on him. "It's mind is gone, it's violent and dangerous in a group. We can take this one though."

"So why aren't you?" I asked, noting the fact she hadn't fired yet.

"Because they rarely travel alone." She said.

"Why is it feral?" I asked. "What happened to it?"

"This is the fate of all ghouls." She said. "One of these days, old shopkeep is going to snap and that town's going to have to put him down. That's life."

"That's horrible." I said. Dodger turned to look at me, she frowned.

"Sometimes I forget how naive you are." Dodger said, shaking her head. She turned back to the ghoul and chalked up pretty fast. "Ghoul's gone. Be quiet."

I glanced and sure enough the ghoul was missing. I scanned the area but couldn't find anything. I glanced at my Pip-Boy map. The area had plenty of alleyways, plenty of worn out buildings. No doubt there were a dozen paths not listed on my map. I turned around following one of the paths on my map.

"Dodger." I whispered. "I found it."

She spun around. The ghoul was standing behind us staring right for us, a few yards down on the roof of a car. It made an odd hissing sound. She trained her revolver on him. It lunged, she fired. The shot echoed. The shot blew the top of it's scalp clean off and it collapsed onto the pavement with a splash of blood. I sighed with relief. A series of loud roars echoed from all around us. It was as if every building was screaming at us.

"Keep your weapons read." Dodger said. "When I say go, you run to that tower and don't look back."

"What about you?" I asked.

"Concern? How sweet." She said with a weak smile. "I'll keep them off you. You find that prick and we'll run our asses out of here."

I noticed a dozen ghouls clambering out of the nearby buildings on all fours.

"This sounds like suicide." I said.

"Call it what you will, I've got your back." She said. She kissed my cheek. "Now run dammit!"

I felt my face go flushed again. Given the circumstances this was the worst time to be thinking like that. I turned and ran. Bat in one hand, revolver in the other. I sprinted down the street, dodging debris and leaping over rusty cars. The tower wasn't that far ahead. I ran through the doorway. Everything was trashed, and I had plenty of floors to search. This was going to take a while. Dodger didn't have that long. I had to think. Most of these floors would be offices, probably identical ones at that. Why would Rust bother going through this building. What would be important about it? I realized it, the top floor. The CEO office, that one would certainly be different and anything important about this building would be up there. Top floor, elevator had an out of order sign. I doubted it would work anyways. I sighed and ran through the stairwell door.

I heard gunshots outside and horrible shrieking sounds. I continued to run up the stairwell. I was tired and out of breath, but I didn't have much time for breaks. I still took a couple when I could. It took way too long but I reached the top floor. Floor forty four. Fantastic. I really needed to do more cardio. Living in a metal box underground certainly didn't help my overall fitness. That's an excuse, there were gyms in the vault.

I stepped out of the stairwell and found myself in a hallway leading to two large doors. I could hear an odd howling on the other side. I opened it slowly. I could faintly hear movement on the other side. I pushed the door open with my bat and crept through. I could see a blue and yellow jumpsuit on the other side. Wearing it was a man with dark red hair, digging through the main desk. I leveled my revolver on him and stepped forward. I took a moment to catch my breath.

The desk was large and made out of mahogany. The walls were adorned with paintings of the kingdoms of the world. The windows were shattered so the howling wind was echoing into the room. The floor was covered in debris and broken glass, underneath all that was beautiful white marble.

"Rust!" I shouted. He stopped and glanced up at me. I kept my .38 revolver trained on him. He squinted for a moment and shook his head in surprise.

"Preacher?" He asked.

"Say my name you son of a bitch!" I replied. "We've known each other all our lives, the least you can do is remember my god damned name for once."

"Calm down Navy." Rust said. "Let's talk."

"No. I don't think so. You are coming with me back to that damned vault right this instant or so help me the god of destruction, I will put a bullet between your eyes and be done with it."

"You won't do that." Rust said. The smug bastard. I was breathing heavier now, I was thinking a lot less clearly. Whether I'd shoot him was kind of up in the air right about now.

"Why not?" I asked. My hand was shaking, either from the fatigue or the adrenaline. I couldn't quite say.

"Because either way you aren't going home again." He said. He brushed some dust off the desk beside him. "Moot point either way, you won't be going back."

"Something you want to say?" I asked.

"Listen, I'm not here to fight with you." He said. "But I'm not going back, neither are you."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because the Overseer won't let you back in the vault. The only reason I'm being let back in is because I'm his replacement and he's getting old. It's too late to train a new replacement. He doesn't want you." Rust said. "That came out wrong. I'm not trying to be your enemy, I'm just speaking the truth."

"How do you know this?" I asked. "Where's your evidence?"

"I know this because I know the Overseer. He won't let anyone who's been out here come back in, not anymore." Rust said. "Not since the last time."

"What last time?" I asked. "The vault doors have never been opened."

"I don't know if I should-" Rust began.

"No! You don't get to talk like that. You don't get to lord anything over me, not now! I am done! Sick and tired of all of this!" I shouted. He actually winced. I tried to keep calm but it just wasn't working. Seeing his face again wasn't helping. Hearing all this was getting my blood pumping. I squeezed the pistol in my hand, a fist clenched the bat in the other. "Ever since I got out here I've been beaten, captured, and threatened with death. I've got a drug addled, sex crazed, psychopath threatening to cut my balls off. I've witnessed shootouts and executions. I've had to crack a guys skull open with my baseball bat. I've had to lie to children, make up religious dogma, be praised for it of all things. I've had to track you down, for days now. Now I've got freaking zombies outside clawing their way in, the closest thing I have to a friend I've ever had since you turned your back on me is risking her neck trying to save the both of us and now you're telling me I can't even go home again, and on top of that you won't tell me why?"

"Calm down Navy." Rust said.

"No! I will not calm down! I am done! I am tired. I am frustrated." I said. "Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right about now. What is it you're hiding from me?"

"Everyone has lied to you. Your entire life." Rust said. "Your parents, they aren't even your parents."

"What?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

"They lied to you, your parents came from out here." Rust said. "From outside the vault."

"No. My parents are from the vault. Their names are Peter and Sandra Fallow." I said.

"Peter and Sandra couldn't have kids." Rust said. "Sandra was sterile."

'What?" I asked. None of this made any sense. I had half a mind to shoot him right now, but something kept me from squeezing the trigger. That isn't the man I am. I am better than that.

"When your parents tried to get into the vault, they pleaded for hours for the Overseer to at least take their kid. You. The Overseer eventually relented and let you in, what's the worst that could happen. Your parents even got to stay for a while."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"The overseer eventually kicked them out of the vault. Kept you because you were just a kid. They were a liability. They were spreading rumours and dissent that the outside world was habitable. The Overseer doesn't want people to know there is a whole world out here. He got rid of them." Rust said. "He claimed they were visitors from another vault and were clearly mentally unstable. Nothing survived in the surface."

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I was the Overseer's replacement. I was given full access to his terminal. He tried to erase the evidence but he got sloppy." Rust said. "I've always been good with computers, I found it pretty easily."

"So why leave?" I asked. "You could have been king of the vault."

"When I heard there was a whole world out here I had to leave. When I heard the elaborate conspiracy the Overseer made, I couldn't stay. I couldn't grow up to be like that old man. If I have one regret." He said with a sigh. He sat down on the desk. "My one regret is not telling you. I thought for your own good that you'd be better off living the happy lie."

"Happy lie?" I asked. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"I thought you were happy." Rust said.

"No! Anything but! I was hated by anyone and I didn't know why. My parents never liked me and treated me like I was some form of tumor they had to put up with. My job was preaching to a senile old bat who hated everyone almost as much as I did. I had no friends. How could I possibly be happy?" I asked.

"Why do you even want to go back?" Rust asked.

"Because I-" I shouted. I couldn't finish the sentence. Why did I want to go back? Safety? Certainly not because I liked it there. The metal walls always felt claustrophobic. I never felt I could have ambitions in a place like that. I never felt wanted or desired. Everyone avoided me and nobody trusted me. I holstered me gun and loosened the grip on my bat. "I don't know."

"I know I've caused you a lot of trouble." Rust said. "I don't even have the right to ask this. How about we leave that dreary vault behind us for good."

"And do what Rust?" I asked.

"Find your parents." Rust said.

"Why would you possibly what to do that?" I asked.

"Because the only evidence I could find, other than an old journal entry from the overseer, was a pair of holotapes." Rust said. "Containing the journal entries by one Ruby Rose herself."

"Your ancestor." I said.

"Exactly." Rust said. "They found it outside the vault. They claimed to have ideas where others like it could be found. They were looking for these."

"She's long dead." I replied.

"You might not care, but I do." Rust said. "She's my ancestor, she was a hero. I want to put her to rest. No doubt she's just a skeleton like the ones all around us, like the ones clustered around the door to Vault 5. Just laying out in the open, ignored by all. I'm going to bury her. Then I'm going to move on with my life."

"So my parents were on this wild goose chase too?" I asked. "What could possibly drag them down that path?"

"I don't know." Rust said. "But we could find out together."

I picked up a discarded chair and sat down. The office was too quiet. I couldn't hear the distant gunfire anymore. Either Dodger took care of our ghoul problem or she was dead. I glanced at Rust. He was as he always was. Reckless and arrogant to boot. He left the vault without thinking how it'd affect anyone else. He made a good point though. There was nothing left for me at Vault 5. I'm amazed it took me this long, and with his help just to figure that out. What was I going to do? Follow him on a fools errand? Run off with Dodger should she still be alive? Settle down in Sanctuary? Set off on my own into that dreary apocalyptic sunset? I did want to know where my parents were.

"Fine." I said at last. "Fuck the vault, the Overseer, and old lady Henderson. I'm done with that place. We find my parents, we find your ancestor, we go our separate ways for good."

The door burst open and Dodger came storming into the room. She was soaked in blood and looked like the god of destruction himself was after her. She started panting heavily. She quickly emptied her revolver's cylinder and with shaking hands she reloaded it. Rust reached for a weapon. I held up my hand, he relaxed.

"Sorry... reunion... broken up... ferals... lots... here... soon... all... die... fuck." She said between pants. She took a deep breath. "Don't just stand there. Run!"


	7. Ruby Rose's Diary, Entry 1

Start Recording

 **Ruby Rose's Journal, entry one.**

Well that was a landing. It hit me like one of Ren's concoctions. I'd like to say I'm keeping my humor in all this. Here I was in a wrecked warship floating off the coast, mushroom clouds as far as the eye can see. It's all over and I'm making awful jokes. I'm avoiding the elephant in the room.

I mean, how can I not? I'm shocked and appalled at myself. Even though I survived the crash, in those final moments I thought nothing of my young daughter. My mind immediately shot to my sister, my friends, but not to the person who should matter most to me. It makes me wonder, if my mother felt the same way. Did she think of Uncle Qrow? Of Raven? Of Dad maybe? Rather than me and Yang? Did she betray her own kids as selfishly as I did? Maybe I'm just beating myself up.

My daughter was on the vault list, and I sent her to the vault ahead of time, just before the attack. If only to get her out of harms way so I wouldn't think about her. I remember this one time. Actually I probably shouldn't. I'm sidetracked enough as is.

I know she's . Why am I feeling so distraught over this? I know she's safe. She's safe. She is safe. She's the only one I know who is safe. Everything hurts though. Perhaps it's because I failed her. Just like my own mother, I failed to be there for her. Just like my own mother, my job got in the way of raising her. My mother was super mom, why didn't I do more to be like her?

Why did I end up the same way as her?

The ship touched down off the coast, as I mentioned earlier. It took me about a week to get one of the bullhorns working, had to scrap at least three others to get the parts. It had enough fuel to get to the coast. That's about it. I dressed up in a radiation suit and took off for the shore.

What was my plan? Find my friends, alive or dead I needed to know. If they are still alive we'll coordinate to find other survivors. I needed to know someone else made it, I couldn't be the sole survivor. I took as many radaways as I could, I figured I'd need them now more than ever.

I still can't get over it though.

Autumn, I'm so sorry.

End Recording.


	8. Ruby Rose's Diary, Entry 2

Start recording.

 **Ruby Rose's Journal, entry two.**

The city of Vale, once a city I called home. Now a desolate wasteland. It was heart wrenching to say the least, to walk these barren streets. To listen to the quiet where there was once people and cars. Birds and insects. All of it was empty. Nothing but the wind, the dust, the debris blowing in the breeze. It was like the city was howling in pain. I found charred remains, silhouettes burned against the wall. It was like walking through a graveyard, only without the respect buried death brings. A madman ended this world but it wasn't even his fault. We dragged ourselves into this war. It was our own meddling and politics that ruined everything. It led to madmen to take command. It was a daisy chain of bad events.

I tried to think about how this happened. Of the resource wars over failing dust mines. Of corporate meddling, government espionage, rising tensions between kingdoms. I'd want to say we were played against one another by some unknown enemy. How great would that be. Then none of us would be at fault. It would certainly be the easy answer. An ancient evil awoke and ruined everything. I wanted that to be true. Then I'd have an enemy to fight. All I have to fight right now is radiation sickness and starvation. Food? Where would I find food? Everything's scorched earth. That's a problem for later.

I decided I'd try to find Weiss first, I at least knew where she was before the missile hit. She was at Schnee Tower. Newly constructed during the economic boom that preceded the recessions and collapsing markets before the war broke out. This was before the mines started failing. The tower was still standing, despite the blast and falling warships. It survived, she might have too. I know the tower had it's own vault, not quite in the Vault-Tec sense, but certainly in the banking variety. If she made it to her vault, she had a chance.

She might even have saved a few of her employees. If we can rally survivors, we could probably lead them to the vaults. They'd have to let us in. I feel a lot better about my current predicament now. If Weiss was here, I could find the others easy. There's nothing we can't accomplish together.

End recording.


	9. Chapter 6 - Vault of Tears

**A/N**

 **Sorry for the delay getting this one out. Life is getting in the way of my writing and I'm trying my best to find time to work on this. Truth is I have a lot more important things than hobby writing but that said I still want to finish this story so you guys will have something to enjoy. So until then I'll work on this as I can. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Vault of Tears**

* * *

"Who is she?" Rust asked.

"Dodger, what's happening?" I asked.

"Ghouls. Lots. Chased me. Up here." She said, panting heavily. She leaned down and started coughing. "We need a way out."

"I can help with that." Rust said. "I noticed it while I was tearing this room apart. Miss Schnee has a private elevator."

"Oh because that's going to run two hundred years later." I said. "Good plan Rust."

"This building has it's own fusion core based power supply." Rust said. "Those last a good three hundred years."

"So we can just ride an elevator down to the bottom floor?" I asked.

"If I can get passed the password." He said. He tapped a button on the wall and a panel slid open. A computer terminal was now visible. "This encryption looks pretty tough. Buy me some time."

A loud roar echoed from the hallway. I raised my revolver, Dodger grabbed my baseball bat and closed the doors. She slid the bat between the door handles.

"That's my prized bat!" I said. She scoffed.

"It's going to keep us alive another few minutes if we're lucky." She said.

I sighed. "Fine." I said. She backed up and raised her revolver at the door.

"So we dragging this man back to the vault?" Dodger asked.

"Change of plans." I said. I could have sworn she was smiling. "We're going on a wild goose chase."

"How long?" Dodger asked.

"Until we find what we're both looking for. You still with me?" I asked.

"Let me think about it." She said. Her head titled back and forth. "Sure, why not? I'm not doing anything special."

The door slammed. I could hear a dozen ghouls growling on the other side. I turned to Rust to find him busy fiddling with some sort of logic puzzle. I turned back to the door as it began to rattle and bang. The bat rattled between the handles and we took a few steps back. Dodger started swearing away. I blinked a few stray tears. I think my mind was starting to realize that I was likely going to die soon. I shook the thought aside and wiped my eyes. I steadied my aim.

The door burst open. My beloved bat shattered in two. A dozen ghouls came storming in. She opened fire first. I hesitated. I still wasn't used to this. Killing. Even something thats feral and monstrous. I squeezed the trigger. I blew a ghouls head apart. I recoiled. I continued firing. Blood was splattering everywhere. My gun clicked empty. I started to reload. More ghouls came storming in. There were so many of them, I wanted to know where they were coming from. Dodger drew a long knife and started swinging.

"Rust!" I shouted. "A little help?"

"Almost done!" He shouted back.

"Rust!" I shouted.

"Patience is a virtue!" He said. There was a beeping sound and the wall parted revealing a small elevator. "Done!"

I turned and ran for the elevator. We all packed into it, the feral ghouls tried to climb in with us. We shut the door. One of their hands reached in and was quickly severed. Blood splattered across us.

"Well that was a thing." I said. I started retching.

"Please don't puke inside this box." Rust said, he gasped. "I'll start puking."

"Pussies." Dodger muttered. She rested her face in her palm. "Now there's two of them. What are you doing Dodger?"

The elevator continued it's long descent down the fourty four floors of Schnee tower. The three of us reloaded and aimed our guns at the door. The door finally opened. We found ourselves in a basement. I turned to Rust.

"This isn't the ground floor." I said. "Why aren't we leaving?"

"We're not done with this building." Rust said.

"A couple dozen angry ghouls says otherwise." Dodger replied.

"The holotape I found in Miss Schnee's office says that Ruby Rose was trying to get into the building's vault. I want to know why." He said.

"Right, the holotapes, how can I forget." I said.

We left the elevator and went searching for this vault. Sure enough it didn't take long. Through the long, claustrophobic, and oddly familiar corridors we found ourselves in front of a large circular door. Not unlike the coglike door of Vault 5. The terminal was still on. Rust checked it. His eyes widened.

"Talk to me Rust, what's going on?" I asked.

"Password is still inputed." Rust said. "How lucky are we."

He clicked a single button and the door opened. We stepped inside to find a large vault filled with boxes. At the end was a pile of skeletons. Huddled together arm in arm. They were still dressed in office clothes, worn as they were. Rust entered first. Dodger lingered. I decided to follow Rust in. Dodger finally followed. Rust approached the pile and started pilfering their pockets.

"Rust, a little respect." I said.

"Looking for identification, not money." He replied. "Oh hell. No."

"What is it?" I asked.

He pointed to one of the skeletons. In the middle surrounded by all the others. He shook his head. I glanced at the ID in his hand. Weiss Schnee, the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company and renowned huntress from before the war. Rust knelt down and opened the skeletons hand. A small holotape rested in it. He inserted it into his Pip-Boy.

"Ruby's Journal, entry four." A woman's voice echoed from the Pip-Boy's speaker. "Weiss is dead. I got the access code, almost resorted to blowing the door down. I wasn't ready for what I saw. Her and dozens of her employees were huddled together at the end of the vault. They must have suffocated. She saved them from the bombs but this vault wasn't designed to hold people when sealed. It was an airtight room after all." I could hear her holding back her tears through the recording. The sniffling sounds breaking up each word made me uncomfortable to say the least. "They died peaceful. They must have. They look like they are sleeping. Oh gods. I can't. End recording."

We sat quietly for a few minutes. Dodger walked to the door and leaned against it. Rust removed the holotape and placed it into his pocket. He sat down on a box.

"Alright, now what?" I asked.

"A dead end." Rust said. "She didn't leave any clues this time."

"Her friend just died." I said. "She wasn't thinking straight."

"I have no idea where the next tape would be." He said.

"Fine, let's get out of here." I said.

"First sane thing I've heard all day." Dodger replied.

A roar echoed across the building. It wasn't the same raspy growls and hisses of the ghouls, it was bigger, deeper. Far more malevolent. The look on Dodger's face said it all. She went pale as a ghost and recoiled the minute she heard it. Rust and I glanced at each other. We were fish out of water when it came to the sounds of the wasteland.

"Okay, I'm guessing that's bad." I said.

"Grimm." She said. "Grimm!"

"Wait what?" Rust asked. "Grimm are fairy tales, the kind of stuff Navy preaches to old ladies."

"Are you two daft?" She asked.

I drew the sacred texts. "Are you telling me the demons in this book are real?" I asked. She looked at me like I was some kind of idiot.

"We're leaving." She said. The fact she didn't answer my question worried me more. "Follow me and keep your heads down and maybe we'll get out of this alive."

We hurried back into the elevator and set it for the ground floor. It began it's ascent.

"Alright, tells us about Grimm, how bad are they?" I asked.

"You're the preacher, don't you know this?" She asked.

"I don't exactly believe the shit I preach." I said. "How bad? As bad as a few dozen ghouls?"

"Worse." She said. "Way worse."

"How bad?" I asked. "Ballpark."

"We don't know what attracts them but they just show up and entire settlements disappear." She said. "I grew up in a small town, one day they showed up and that was the end of it. No more settlement."

"How many were there?" I asked.

"Three." She said. "Just three, fucking three of them. All it took."

"Oh god." Rust said. He was staring at the weapons in our hands. "We're so dead."

"How many guns did your town have?" I asked. She gave me a look. "Try to remember, I'm trying to size them up."

"Seven mounted turrets, a rifle for every citizen, one guy had a rocket launcher he was proud of." She said.

"That didn't stop three?" I asked.

"We're dead." Rust said. "We're so dead."

The doors burst open. We kept low and moved to the front desk. Dodger took point and kept glancing over our cover. Rust and I looked at our weapons and realized we are far too underdressed for this kind of fight. There was another loud roar. Followed by a loud footstep. The entire building shook. The next step caused the building to shake again. I looked over our cover and saw the front door.

Standing outside was a massive lizard on it's hind legs. Giant claws were the first thing I saw. It's spiny tail with spikes growing from it gave it a more imposing look. Glancing up from the claws and spikes were sharp teeth and two long horns. Black scales and white plating around it's head gave it an unnatural look. Red glowing tattoos formed intricate patterns along the plating. It's eyes, it's fiery eyes, were scanning the area. Dodger dragged me down behind the desk.

"Deathclaw." She whispered.

"That good?" I asked.

"No it's not good." She whispered. "Stop asking stupid questions."

"Can we take it?" Rust asked.

"Did you not hear my story?" She said. "No we can't fucking take it. Unless you're hiding a rocket launcher in your trousers."

"We're dead." Rust said. "We're so dead."

"Got any prayers preacher man?" She asked. "Maybe god can come and smite this thing."

"Don't think it works like that?" I said.

"Maybe you can try?" Dodger asked. Her eyes were wide, her whole body was vibrating. She was scared, that made everything worse.

"Sure, whatever." I said. I pulled out the sacred texts. "God of life, hallowed be thy name, strike down this beast that threatens our lives. May we survive another day in your grace." She frowned. "What? You asked."

"That was lame." She said.

"Oh come on what do you expect from me?" I asked. "I've never asked god to smite shit for me before, let alone believe this garbage. I got assigned it."

I don't exactly recall what happened in the next few minutes. I was suddenly on the ground. My head was ringing. Dust was everywhere. The desk had shattered and I was now buried under it's debris. I stumbled to my feet, not thinking too clearly. I glanced around. Black blood was everywhere. There was a small mushroom cloud outside the entrance of the building, which was now a collapsed pile of rubble. The Geiger counter on my Pip-Boy was clicking. When the cloud cleared, I could see the beast staggering to it's feet. It hissed. The snowflake sign that had precariously hung over the entrance suddenly fell and landed on the beast, flattening it in a deafening splat. Dodger and Rust stood up beside me.

"That was a fluke." Dodger said. "A total fluke."

"Amen to that." Rust replied.

Several shapes stepped onto the sign. They were in massive armoured suits carring heavy firepower like nothing I'd ever seen before. They were like knights of old. With massive guns. One of them had some sort of launcher on his shoulder. The lead knight stepped forward. He removed his helmet, revealing a hood covering his hair and a squarish face, far cleaner than any face I've seen in the wasteland so far. He had bright blue eyes. He smirked.

"Civilians. This is a restricted area." He said. Even his voice had a smooth vibration to it. I glanced over at Dodger, she had the biggest grin on her face. Rust looked like he was in awe. "Vault dwellers huh."

"How does he know that?" Rust asked.

"Your vault suits moron." Dodger replied. She shot him a dirty look, it was almost like she was embarassed to be seen with us. Probably was.

"Right." He said. "Of course."

The man stepped into the ruined lobby, his men backed in keeping their eyes on the street. He kept his helmet under his arm and in his offhand was a massive rifle that looked like no gun I've ever seen before, he kept it over his shoulder.

"No technology outside of primitive firearms." He said. He scanned us. "Two Pip-Boys. Robco junk."

I glanced down at my Pip-Boy. Even though I called it junk on a regular basis, I was a little irritated with the fact he so casually dismissed it. It was a piece of junk but it was my piece of junk. He was tall too, perhaps it was partially the suit but he towered over the three of us.

"Threat level none." He said. Rust and Dodger seemed to be awestruck, or lovestruck, I couldn't tell the difference. I think I'm the only one in the room noticing that he's evaluating our threat level. This man was starting to irritate me, only I knew we stood no chance against the group that so effortlessly killed the deathclaw.

"Who are you?" Dodger stammered. She was blushing. I glanced back and forth between the two. I had no idea what was going on but it was starting to irritate me.

"Paladin Flame." He said. "Brotherhood of Steel."


End file.
